Paul A.
Yelp
Sunday lunch, nearby and great reviews. It is a great place. We had the Roast Chicken, when it arrived a big plate of lovely food, in fact so much there wasn't room for pud. Sadly though the main thing that lets the chef and the place down are the staff, they are ill equipped to deal with the customers. No engagement, unsure of processes or procedures, who came in first who came in next, are you sitting outside or inside, they all need a kick up the a**e, get yourself moving, serve people, half hearted service just ain't good enough, buck up, know your bar. The mats must cause the glasses to wobble because one of the staff was checking it wasn't sitting on the corner so that when he poured the wine it didn't topple over, there are markings on the glass to allow for correct measures, but the chap poured the wine and it was a little short, made an attempt to top it up twice and spilt more than he topped up. We came to pay and the queue at the bar was not helped by the slow service. We'd heard mention of the fact we'd got a tab for outside, but as there weren't any tables outside we sat just inside. We asked the waiter if we could have another drink, or do we go to the bar? He served us but we had to wait because he was busy, he was the only person waiting all the tables. He did an amazing job but there's lots to do, clear tables, top up the water jug, set the table, take the orders, provide drinks, take money, have a drink, go to the loo, he was busy. It came to paying and we waited at the bar to pay, it took a long time, all the while one of the bar staff was emptying the rubbish and paying no attention to the customers now three deep, once we did get to pay they'd split the bill, drinks on one number and meals on the other, we could have walked out without paying for the drinks, but we didn't, how many people had been able to do that, that's money walking out of the door! Even the initial drinks hadn't been added to the tab. They need to look at their processes, they need to get their staff engaged with the job at hand and the customers. Things that irritate a punter more than anything is being kept waiting, serving someone who was behind you in the queue, being incompetent at doing the job you're being paid to do. Opportunities were missed, not such a huge plate of food would mean more people have room for a dessert, making sure that tap water is available on a hot day all the time. (You shouldn't need to keep pestering the waiter for it or going to the bar, it slows everything down, if you are providing a water pitcher, ensure it's kept topped up.) Look at the way that your tab system is working, or not as the case may be, people usually like to have another drink, but if they can't get service then they can't drink more, therefore you loose out on additional income. The quicker they are served, the quicker they'll sup up, the quicker they'll come back, the ten minutes they are waiting at the bar is wasted drinking time, less money in the till. Just saying, I've worked on the other side of the bar, I *worked* all the time i was there, I didn't stop, there wasn't time.